Finding New Love in the Autofree World

There are many benefits of being car-free, a lot of them revolve around $$$ savings from not having a hunk of metal in my driveway, I have a clear conscience around pollution, I generally feel I'm making a difference. However, in the last few months it has come clear that there is one major downturn of not having a car and that is impulse.

Recently I met a new woman in my life, like me she is car free, rides a bike, takes transit and often walks to work - what a catch ! However, since she does lives some distance away the logistics of the car free relationship have become apparent. In the past I have always had a vehicle when starting a new relationship; it was easy just to jump in the car and be there in a matter of minutes. Without the car, like most other things without the car, our social lives need more planning; this has not been an issue until recently.

My new partner has not been without her car for very long, in fact she is contemplating buying a car in the spring. On closer inspection her reasons for being without the car are not the same as mine, less environmental impact, more financial. However, the impact on our relationship is more than apparent. Like many people from Vancouver's more westerly locations, we over here on the eastern border may as well be in Coquitlam or Mission. Needless to say the logistics are compounded during the week when it is back to work in the AM of the next day; the growth of our relationship seems to be hampered by our car free lifestyles.

I have had more time to adjust to the car free life, my partner, because it was a financial choice more than philosophical, seems to be fighting the change more aggressively. She misses the ability to simply jump in the car and go some place on impulse, I have pretty well dealt with that issue, up until now.

So how do we deal with this ? One of us has to relent, either I have to buy a car or she has to buy a car OR she has to become accustomed to riding the 135 bus or grabbing a $10 taxi ride to my house. Had I lived around Commercial Drive this might be only half the issue, since that area is about halfway between us. Out here on the Burnaby/Vancouver border maybe quieter than the downtown eastside. Right now it looks like I am the one trekking regularly in to Vancouver, which I don't mind at all, after all that is why we have Ipod's and cell phones [both recently purchased].

Early stages of relationships are often dubious and it is where insecurity comes to light, add a dose of logistical car free lifestyle and could be just one more thing to dampen ones enthusiasm. Yet we are highly resilient individuals, we are full of ideas to circumvent inconvenience and general bad weather, surely two mature, intelligent, hot for each other individuals can overcome this.

Running for the Work Less Party

At the end of August I was cornered at a social event by some of my heroes, Betty Krawczyk, Chris Shaw and Conrad Schmidt. Since it was Betty's 80th birthday party how could I refuse their invite to run for the Work Less Party in the upcoming Vancouver civic elections ? It was at this same party I saw Rafe Mair [radio host former Socred] informally bantering with Charles Boylan [radio host and Marxist-Leninist]. Well I thought if those two political worlds can meet in appreciation of Betty K, I certainly would be amenable to running civically.

I have run in elections before, notably the 2001 and 2005 BC provincial elections. I did reasonably well, the first time I ran I got scores of media attention, the second time I ran I hardly got any. This time around I am unlikely to get much in the way of media, although Betty [who is running for Mayor] and Chris [who is running for council will probably garner the most media scores.

The WLP are an interesting bunch of people. Started by Conrad Schmidt, the party has run civically and provincially, 2008 marks their first run federally. Conrad is a great philosopher and his book "Workers of the World Relax" is a great read and highly recommended. This civic election see's the party with a stunningly "green" platform. Written by Chris Shaw [who wrote the Green Party platform in 2005] and Geri Tramutola; the platform runs the gamut of practical advice for downward spiraling economies, natural disasters whilst at the same time how to put the "fun" back in to Vancouver.

There are numerous issues within the WLP platform that other parties simply will not touch; such as moving towards a self sustaining city that relies heavily on community gardens that pushes out big box stores. The platform identifies five areas of importance: waste management, arts and culture, transit, crime and housing. Each area receives detailed analysis with specific suggestions on how to deal with the various issues that have arisen in regard to them.

One of my favourite sections is the "community gardens" section. The WLP emphasis on community oriented gardening and the removal of red tape opens the doors for increased food safety via locally grown, organic food production across the city. The more community gardens we have the safer we will be.

So it is my pleasure to run for the WLP. I would be great if some of the recently rejected candidates from VISION and COPE would take a look at the WLP, the WLP is far more green than any other political entity on the Vancouver civic scene and for this BC Green Party candidate that is a whole lot more green for all of us.